Tag Archives: Malpeque Harbour

P.E.I. Lobster season delayed by weather, need for dredging

No date has yet been set for opening P.E.I.’s spring lobster fishery in LFAs 24 and 26A. The season was originally set to open on Saturday. “If the tide is reasonable and the weather conditions are favourable, I’m sure we can squeak out over it,” said Chris Wall, who has fished out of Malpeque for more than 30 years. “Weather is something that we always watch and talk about on P.E.I. anyway, but you do have to pay more attention to it, especially when you’re going with a fully laden boat … For some people, it’s the first time out of the harbour for the year because it hasn’t been fit to leave otherwise.” >click to read< 08:41

Malpeque harbour users vote in favour of new wharf at Cabot Shores

On Wednesday, July 8, Malpeque harbour users gathered in Summerside to hear proposed plans for a new wharf. Around 50 people attended the presentation given by Harbourside Consulting and MRSB, which was hosted by the Malpeque Harbour Authority before its annual general meeting. Most there were commercial fishers; some were members of the public. The navigational channel into Malpeque harbour, also called Malpeque Cove, is shallow and has needed near-constant dredging for decades.  The shallow channel is dangerous for boats and their crews who risk running aground, swamping full of water or capsizing.  >click to read< 08:09

“We were pumped”! Lobster fishermen find and retrieve big anchor outside of Malpeque Harbour

Matt Wall was out fishing last week, hauling lobster traps, when he noticed something unusual. “It just seemed like the traps were stuck on the bottom,” he said. Wall and the crew quickly realized they had snagged an anchor. “I didn’t think it was a big deal at the time, there’s all [kinds of] anchors out there, net anchors, small stuff,” Wall said. It was bigger than they first thought and when they pulled it up it slipped out of their grasp. But Wall marked the spot. He had a diver scheduled to come out and look for the anchor on Tuesday, but after fishing on Saturday, Wall decided to head back out and look for it again. Photo’s, >click to read< 18:30

Setting day challenging but ‘better than expected’ say Malpeque fishermen

Despite a two-week delay to P.E.I.’s fishing season because of COVID-19 and added dredging challenges, Malpeque Harbour was still bustling with fishermen on setting day. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans cautioned fishermen in Malpeque Harbour that the yearly dredging effort was still ongoing, as the dredger was unable to create a clear passage through the channel that leads from the harbour to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. “After weeks of stress and sleepless nights, it went much better than expected,” said Justin Pickering, a captain who fishes from the harbour. “The wind let up last night and the dredger was able to get a little bit of a path cut through for us and we were the second boat out,” he said. >click to read< 08:13

Malpeque Harbour channel plugged; fishermen remaining tied up as dredge works at site

When P.E.I.’s lobster fleet heads out for setting day on Monday, their fellow captains in Malpeque Harbour might be left watching from the wharf.
An unprecedented amount of sand has moved in over the winter to choke off the narrow channel that gives the small harbour on P.E.I.’s north shore access to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. A dredger is on site and working to get the passage open but, with setting day tentatively set for April 29, fishermen who use the wharf are worried – and frustrated. >click to read<13:24

Setting Day: ‘One of my busiest days, stressful days, my exciting days of the year,’ says 22-year fishing veteran

Lobster fishermen at many Prince Edward Island harbours were busy getting their boats, traps and crew ready for the start of the spring season Monday. The tradition of the 6 a.m. start and the busy day of getting all the traps in the water for the first time each year is known as setting day. At Malpeque Harbour, on the northern part of the Island, it was a hive of activity Sunday as fishermen worked to get ready. >click to read<18:44